King Alfred Center, Hove


Latest plans for a Gehry tower

Frank Gehry designs a spectacular addition to the Hove seafront - the planning decission is imminent. Developer is Karis, who plans to demolish the King Alfred leisure centre and replace it with an art sports and swimming complex designed by HOK. The centre will be surrounded by a development including 745 apartments, restaurants and retail.

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/5963/gehryhove0fi.jpg

This development is covered in the Brighton and sussex coast development thread. :)

Looks a little similar to the other tower proposal that everyone on here seemed to love. Are they by the same architect?

Looks funky and original anyway. Fingers Crossed!

Could someone please explain to me how this is supposed to be good architecture? I get the impression that if a famous architect had not designed it people might be less inclined to praise it. (Bilbao is equally atrocious in my opinion.)
Have any of you read of the controversy being stirred in Brooklyn by a similar looking project Gehry has planned for there? Atlantic Yards right? Latest news?
Honestly, I am completely baffled as to what it is about his architecture that people find appealing. And being well established, or famous for being a good architect, are simply not enough to persuade me otherwise.
Indeed, the more I look at it the more clueless I get.

Well it's not your bog standard doll's house. This design has been cancelled anyway.

Could someone please explain to me how this is supposed to be good architecture? I get the impression that if a famous architect had not designed it people might be less inclined to praise it. (Bilbao is equally atrocious in my opinion.)
Have any of you read of the controversy being stirred in Brooklyn by a similar looking project Gehry has planned for there? Atlantic Yards right? Latest news?
Honestly, I am completely baffled as to what it is about his architecture that people find appealing. And being well established, or famous for being a good architect, are simply not enough to persuade me otherwise.
Indeed, the more I look at it the more clueless I get.

I remember watching an episode of The Simpsons where he gets his idea from a scrunched up piece of paper, this is actually how he gets his idea in my opinion, I struggle to find one of his projects that I like.
It seems that he is famous for being crap, but you know what people are like, always wanting the next big thing, I feel soory for the places that have his buildings, in time they will become similar to 60's and 80's buildings we see today.
Everyone will hate it, regret it and want it to come down asap.

Everyone will hate it, regret it and want it to come down asap.

I cant remember where I read this, but one writer described Bilbao and his other works of this style : "...looks like the aftermath of a head-on collision and the Jaws of Life have torn away the strips of metal to retrieve the victims trapped inside. Gehry then installed a few windows within the wreckage and called it a building."
Or something like that, the exact wording has escaped me.